Laila sets out on a road trip to Pattani, one of the three southernmost Thai provinces, to visit her long-lost aunt. Her brother and his friend are tagging along. The three take off from Bangkok during a time when the capital is going through a radical conflict. Being the city’s citizens has prevented them from realizing much about the violent outbreaks that have been occurring around Pattani for many years. Meeting a suspicious soldier sent to fight the insurgents, the four head together to find Laila’s aunt, where the route is leading them to discover a land stranger than that they are familiar with.

Recognised as the first female Thai director to be noticed by international viewers and critics, she is a pioneer on the Thai independent film scene since the early ’90s. Since 1988 she has made a number of experimental short films, mostly depicting women’s issues, including, Mae Nak, a deconstruction of the popular Thai ghost story “Mae Nak Phra Kanong”.

She was the program director for the Bangkok Film Festival 2001, 2008, and 2009. Moreover, she was invited as a jury member for many film festivals such as Oberhausen International Short Film Festival in 2001, Yamagata Documentary Film Festival in 2005, and Hong Kong Film Festival in 2010. Pimpaka won the Silapathorn Award (an honour for Thai contemporary artists) in 2009, presented by the Ministry of Culture in Thailand.